Roster turnover is very much commonplace in today’s NIL + transfer portal age of college basketball. Before he was fired, former Gophers head coach Ben Johnson was losing most of his best players every offseason.

This time last year, Minnesota lost Pharrel Payne (Texas A&M), Elijah Hawkins (Texas Tech) and Josh Ola-Joseph (Cal), among others. One offseason earlier Johnson lost top Big Ten talent Jamison Battle (Ohio State), along with starting guard Ta’Lon Cooper (South Carolina) and 3 and D specialist Braeden Carrington (Tulsa).

While all of the players listed above left the Big Ten momentarily, a couple of homegrown talents are both on their way back… to different Big Ten teams. Payne (Cottage Grove, MN) followed his head coach Buzz Williams from A&M to Maryland.

Former MN Gophers guard Braeden Carrington lands with Wisconsin Badgers

Then on Thursday, news broke that one of those former local Minnesota Gophers talents, Braeden Carrington (Brooklyn Park), has signed with — you guessed it — the Wisconsin Badgers. Last year, in his one season at Tulsa, the 6-4, 195 lb guard averaged 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game.

Tulsa guard transfer Braeden Carrington has signed with Wisconsin, @chris_hummer and I have learned for @cbssports/@247sports.

A return to the Big Ten for Carrington, who began his career at Minnesota and started 10 games there in 2023-24. Made 19 starts for Tulsa this past… pic.twitter.com/5oppY9vMY3

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) April 24, 2025

Carrington will give the Badgers a guy, who at his best, will provide a hot/cold 3-point point threat who can put the ball on the floor and go to the basket, when a defender commits to defending his outside shot.

But where Braeden brings the most value is on defense. When called upon, Carrington can lockdown just about any perimeter scorer he is tasked with guarding. Immediately, the Brooklyn Park kid re-enters the conference as one of its best defenders.

Related: Confirmed: Ben Johnson was the NIL Problem for Gophers Men’s Basketball

Except now, he’s taking classes and playing basketball right over the eastern border, for our most hated rival. meaning some of those defensive assignments will come against his hometown Minnesota Gophers. How a local kid could ever put on the red and white is beyond me… but NIL money talks.

Monday, one day after his Rams were eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Medved was officially announced by the University of Minnesota as the next Golden Gophers men’s head basketball coach. The final nail in Ben Johnson’s coffin came this time last year, when one-by-one, he lost just about every key player from his 2023-24 NIT team to the transfer portal.

The names out included Pharrell Payne (Texas A&M), Elijah Hawkins (Texas Tech), Braeden Carrington (Tulsa) and Joshua Ola-Joseph (Cal), all of which contributed over 15 minutes per game the season prior. But now, just year later, two of those lost talents are already back in the portal… and both are from Brooklyn Park, MN.

Former Minnesota Gophers guard Braeden Carrington enters transfer portal

Monday, news broke that Ola-Joseph was transferring out of Cal. Then Tuesday, right before Medved was introduced as the new Minnesota Gophers head coach, we found out Carrington (Park) was back in the portal too.

Tulsa junior Braeden Carrington has entered the transfer portal.

The 6’4” guard started 19/29 games played, averaging 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

— PortalUpdates (@portal_updates) March 25, 2025

Carrington — who took home the 2022 Minnesota Mr. Basketball award after an impressive senior year at Park Center High School — started 19 games for Tulsa, averaging 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. His biggest impact, however, came on the defensive end, where he built a reputation as one of the best lockdown defenders in the Big Ten.

Related: Former MN Gopher Enters College MBB Transfer Portal

In Carrington’s two seasons with his hometown Gophers, the 6’4″ 195 lb guard played in 51 total games, including 10 starts, all of which came as a sophomore. It’ll be interesting to see where he lands next, and whether new head coach Nico Medved has any interest in bringing him back home.

Braeden Carrington knocks down the DEEP three ☔️@GopherMBB pic.twitter.com/WjAs7EvpDq

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 1, 2023

With just one year of eligibility remaining, Braeden Carrington is set to play for his third school in four years, unless he returns to the Gophers. It’s worth noting that Medved’s Rams did not offer Carrington, out of high school, even though he had success with multiple kids out of MN, including David Roddy, who he got drafted.

Minnesota Gophers guard Braeden Carrington commits to Tulsa

Carrington is headed to Tulsa with two years of eligibility remaining. During his time in maroon and gold, Braeden made quite a mark, appearing in 51 games total, including ten starts last season.

Let’s get to it‼️ pic.twitter.com/RKWOKsSOwr

— braeden carrington (@braedencarri4) May 11, 2024

In two years with his hometown Gophers, Carrington maintained an average of 5.2 points and 1 assist per game, while logging an average of 20.5 minutes on the court. Really, his biggest asset on the court became his defense.

Related: Charlotte PG Lu’Cye Patterson Transferring to Hometown Gophers

When head coach Ben Johnson needed a shutdown 1v1 defender last year, he went to Braeden Carrington. No doubt this is an area where Minnesota will certainly feel his absence the most.

AND ONE! @braedencarri4

Stream on @BigTenPlus pic.twitter.com/aWouSwkIaU

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) November 7, 2023

You might recall seeing him during his high school years at Park Center, where he earned the title of Mr. Basketball and led the team to a state championship in 2022. Nonetheless, there’s a reason why Braeden Carrington is headed to Tulsa and not an NIL rich power four school.

If Ben Johnson’s squad is going to take a step forward in 2024, they need to get a more consistent backcourt option than Braeden, who hopefully finds his basketball footing at his new school

Minnesota Gophers lose Braeden Carrington to transfer portal

We hadn’t even gotten the article, about 2022 homegrown big man Pharrel Payne hitting the portal, posted before news broke that his teammate Braeden Carrington (Park Center), was joining the transfer party, which was started by fellow ’22 MN high school graduate classmate, Josh Ola-Joseph.

Minnesota sophomore Braeden Carrington has entered the transfer portal @On3sports has learned

The 6-4 guard started 10 games and averaged 4.6 points this season. Originally from Minnesotahttps://t.co/sfmeXD4EJT pic.twitter.com/eTnUB2gV3K

— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) March 28, 2024

Carrington’s transfer, much like that of Ola-Joseph’s, makes sense. His role on the team had shrunk significantly since he first arrived in Dinkytown, so something was bound to give. Not just for the kid from Park Center, but for Ben Johnson too. If the NCAA Tournament is to be on next year’s agenda, Braeden needed to become a much better player, or be replaced. Now, the decision is easy.

According Tony Liebert (GoldGophers.com), Carrington’s decision is based in NIL offers elsewhere, along with more playing time. Most normal humans would . As much as I wish these guys would stick around and compete for their place on the roster, that’s not how it works in the NIL age. And you can’t even blame them, given there is money involved. Someone else isn’t just offering him more playing time, but more cash to play more, too.

Related: Gophers MBB Working Transfer Portal Hard in Anticipation of Losing Their Own

Nonetheless, with all three of Payne, Carrington and Ola-Joseph in the portal, every homegrown commit from the ballyhooed 2022 recruiting class is now in the portal. A class that accounted for 60 minutes, 22.1 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in 2023-24.

Braeden Carrington back with Minnesota Gophers basketball team

When that rumor started making its way around the internet, Braeden and his mom took to social media to dispute it publicly. Now, according to Minnesota men’s basketball coach, Ben Johnson, Carrington is back with the team, though he will not play on Friday vs Maine.

Ben Johnson said Carrington has been fully committed to the program and getting back to playing since he took time away for himself. "I could tell he was in a good spot," Johnson said about Carrington returning this week. https://t.co/Ggx6badXgO

— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) December 27, 2023

Related: Gophers Football Receiving ‘Substantive NIL Packages’ Recently; Basketball Still Behind

Braeden will step back into a Minnesota guard rotation that seems much improved from a couple of weeks ago. Mike Mitchell Jr has showed another level of his play and confidence, of late, and freshman phenom Cam Christie will have a starting job, it’s just a matter of when.

In 24.7 minutes per game, Carrington is averaging 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists. He’s also been the defender Ben Johnson likes to put on the other team’s best perimeter player.

Golden Gophers guard Braeden Carrington, who stepped away from the team weeks ago citing a need to focus on his mental health, is not expected to be with the team on Thursday, or when the conference season resumes.

Related: Gophers Football Receiving ‘Substantive NIL Packages’ Recently; Basketball Still Behind

Braeden Carrington expected to enter transfer portal

In fact, the Park Center, MN alum is unlikely to return to his home state Gophers at all, according to Charley Walters (Pioneer Press), who reports that sources inside the University of Minnesota basketball program are telling him that it’d be a surprise if Carrington doesn’t land in the transfer portal (see update below).

UPDATE: Braeden Carrington’s Mom Calls Transfer Portal Report ‘Fake News’

People close to the Gophers will be surprised if sophomore basketball guard Braeden Carrington from Brooklyn Park doesn’t enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Charley Walters – Pioneer Press

We haven’t had much for updates on how Carrington is feeling, since he stepped away from the program. Braeden didn’t leave the program for basketball reasons, from what we know. But from a strictly basketball standpoint, his exit came just as he was starting to find his game.

Timing of Carrington’s break is interesting

Now a sophomore, Carrington got off to a slower start to his college career than what both he and head coach Ben Johnson were hoping, when he first committed to his hometown school.

Related: Ben Johnson’s 2023-24 Gophers Defying Odds, Climbing Rankings

But against Nebraska back on December 6, Braeden looked like the best defender the Gophers have on roster, when he held the ‘Japanese Steph Curry’ Keisei Tominaga to 4 points, 0 assists and 0 rebounds on 0-of-5 shooting. Carrington announced he was taking a leave from the Minnesota program less than one week later (Dec. 12).

Good morning, #Gophers!

Start your day with highlights from last night's gritty comeback win! pic.twitter.com/HsFOJjZPqe

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) December 7, 2023

Walters is the only reporter I’ve seen that is reporting Braeden’s supposed plans to enter the portal, plans his mom is outwardly denying and plans Carrington seems to be cryptically denying. Stay tuned…

The Carringtons respond via social media

A couple of hours later, after the rumor made its way across the internet, his mom took to Twitter (or X) to dispute Walters’ report, calling it “fake news”. Moments later, Braeden took to Twitter as well, tweeting out a picture of him in his Gophers uniform captioned: “… ⏳💆‍♂️”.

Fake news🙄 @Charley_Walters pic.twitter.com/CxvrUn7lvm

— Holly (@HJC1125) December 26, 2023

…⏳💆🏽‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/iumPjyNB62

— braeden carrington (@braedencarri4) December 26, 2023

I have reached out directly to Carrington trying to get clarification on his plans. If he responds or makes his intentions more clear, this article will be updated.

As mentioned in my original story, the Brooklyn Park native’s social medias are still littered with Minnesota Gophers and, until I hear differently, I’ll trust that his mom is right and that Braeden plans to remain with the Gophers when he feels ready to return.

Braeden Carrington stepping away from Gophers MBB team

In his statement on Twitter, Carrington expressed the need to improve in certain areas of his life, going on to tweet that he “must step away from the program and put myself first”. He does plan to return, according to his tweet.

There's areas of my life I am looking to improve and must step away from the program and put myself first. I plan on returning to the team when the time is right. For now please respect my space and allow me to ultimately do what's best for me. Thank you gopher fans

— braeden carrington (@braedencarri4) December 12, 2023

Braeden, who is from Minneapolis and went to Park Center high school, has played a significant role in what Ben Johnson’s 2023-24 Gophers are trying to accomplish on both sides of the floor.

Related: Can 2023-24 Minnesota Gophers Make the NCAA Tournament?

Carrington having really good season

Minnesota is 7-3 in no small part due to the consistency the 6-4 sophomore has provided to the Gophers’ starting lineup on both sides of the floor, especially of late. In his 10 starts this season, Carrington is averaging of 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game, along with playing a key role on defense.

Braeden Carrington with the POSTER dunk! 🤯 😱 @GopherMBB pic.twitter.com/aem4JzkdZc

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) November 7, 2023

Nonetheless, it’s difficult to help the team if you’re struggling yourself. Hopefully, he can get right and we see him back on the court and in a good place sooner, rather than later.

Minnesota playing short through final non-conference games

The Gophers have three non-conference games remaining through the end of December. When the new year starts, the Big Ten basketball season resumes and life will get a lot more difficult.

They played their first of four mid-season non-conference games over the weekend without star big man, Dawson Garcia, and pulled out an easy victory over Florida Gulf Coast. He’ll miss Tuesday’s game vs IUPUI, as well.

Read all of our blogs about the Gophers men’s basketball team

Braeden Carrington is a 6’3″ wing out of Park Center High School in Minneapolis and his offer list of Florida, Colorado, Missouri, Xavier and Seton Hall is pretty impressive, especially given a pandemic that kept many scouts, coaches and fans out of high school gyms in Minnesota all of last year.

How good is he?

247Sports hasn’t rated Braeden yet, because of the shortage of scouting time, but he is #155 in the nation at PrepHoops.com. If that type of ranking translates to 247Sports, he’d be a high 3-star prospect (around 92/100 overall). Carrington is long and can shoot the lights out. His basketball IQ, according to a former coach with plenty of basketball experience, is off the charts too.

Huge hometown get for Ben Johnson! https://t.co/rBQ24E1oSf

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) August 4, 2021

Carrington’s high school coach James Ware – a former college assistant at Minnesota, Utah State, and Santa Clara as well as a playing standout at Hopkins High School (MN), Texas Tech, and Colorado State – spoke highly of Carrington after Braeden averaged 19 a game while playing dual guard roles.

“Braeden is one of the smartest players I’ve coached at any level,” Ware said to 247Sports. “Besides being a knockdown shooter. He has great size and skill which allows him to play multiple guard positions at an elite level. He routinely makes the right play on offense and his length and nose for the ball allows him to start the break after rebounding.”

247Sports.com – Ryan James

Trend Setter?

When hired, Ben Johnson wasn’t shy about his confidence in landing top Minnesota high schoolers, most of which have avoided Dinkytown like the plague since Richard Pitino took over 8 years ago. He got a late start on recruiting a lot of these local kids so spinning a commitment like Carrington into a few more highly-coveted locals would be a welcomed trend.

Remember, the state of Minnesota has one of the highest rated 2022 high school classes in the nation, currently holding ten recruits who rank at 3-stars or better at 247Sports. Johnson will need all of the reinforcements he can get because recruiting a decent 2021 team out of the transfer portal has been less than successful, setting up what looks like a rough season ahead.

Here are Braeden Carrington’s Hudl highlights.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan